Anthony G. O'Farrell studied at Brown University and worked at the University of California, Los Angeles, then occupied the Chair of Mathematics at NUI, Maynooth for 37 years, with visiting positions in Britain, France, Spain, Israel and the USA. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and has served as President of the Irish Mathematical Society. He has published four books and over 100 papers. Ian Short is a lecturer in mathematics at the Open University. His research interests lie in dynamics and geometry.